SR0231 LRB096 12462 KXB 25471 r

1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Elev8 Chicago seeks to improve the educational
3 achievement and life outcomes of disadvantage middle school
4 students in five Chicago schools (Ames Middle School, Marquette
5 Elementary, Orozco Academy, Perspectives-Calumet Middle
6 School, and Reavis Elementary); and
 
7     WHEREAS, Elev8 Chicago envisions these young people
8 graduating from 8th grade ready to make important life choices;
9 giving them a fire for learning, healthy minds and bodies, and
10 the support required to succeed in high school and beyond; and
 
11     WHEREAS, To achieve this vision, Elev8 Chicago has created
12 a highly integrated program that: extends the school day with
13 afternoon, weekend and summer programming; creates on site,
14 adolescent-focused health clinics in each school; provides
15 social supports including public benefits screening,
16 mentoring, and high school placement assistance; includes
17 local and national advocacy efforts to build supportive
18 policies; and
 
19     WHEREAS, Research has suggested that participation in
20 extended day programs increases youth's skills and evidence
21 indicates that locating extended day programs in schools may
22 increase youth's participation in these services or at least

 

 

SR0231 - 2 - LRB096 12462 KXB 25471 r

1 support the involvement of a broader (perhaps more at-risk)
2 population of youth; and
 
3     WHEREAS, Locating extended day programming on school
4 campus improves students' connections with their schools, both
5 by improving the relationships they have with adults in the
6 school and by fostering a sense of belonging; and
 
7     WHEREAS, School-based health services particularly benefit
8 children coming from urban and rural communities underserved by
9 the traditional health care system and research has shown that
10 school-based clinics enable students to receive more needed
11 health services, especially for uninsured and harder-to-reach
12 populations; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The benefits of placing health services in schools
14 extend beyond simply making services more easily accessible;
15 students at schools with these services not only use health
16 care more often-they use it differently, shifting toward
17 regular preventive care and away from palliative and emergency
18 services, and thus saving the state and the health care
19 institutions money; and
 
20     WHEREAS, In the integrated services model, the school
21 building becomes a hub of academic and enrichment activities
22 for children, while also providing adult programming and

 

 

SR0231 - 3 - LRB096 12462 KXB 25471 r

1 resources for families and community members; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The Elev8 Chicago sites programs offering family
3 support and parental and community involvement will ensure that
4 middle school students and their families provide a stable home
5 environment; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Family support programs commonly provide parents
7 with educational and employment opportunities and help them
8 access and maximize public assistance benefits; such services
9 can help to increase the income level of the family and thereby
10 improve the children's well-being; by making the school a place
11 that helps parents with their income, employment, and other
12 needs, integrated service models ameliorate the alienation
13 that many parents in underserved communities feel toward
14 schools in general; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Research indicates that each core component of
16 this program can play a pivotal role in the lives of children;
17 the Elev8 approach of providing all of these services together
18 in a coordinated manner seeks to achieve results that are far
19 greater than those that can be achieved by any one of the
20 methods on its own; therefore, be it
 
21     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
22 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that Illinois is committed

 

 

SR0231 - 4 - LRB096 12462 KXB 25471 r

1 to closing the gap in teaming achievement levels between low
2 income and middle-income or upper-income children and youth and
3 the Elev8 initiative seeks to rectify this disparage by
4 creating dynamic integration of services within schools, one of
5 the principal environments in which young people spend their
6 time; and be it further
 
7     RESOLVED, That the Elev8 Chicago integrated services model
8 enables stakeholders to break down traditional ways of thinking
9 about what school can provide to a community and what a
10 community can provide to a school; this dialogue should include
11 school administrators, parents, community residents, service
12 providers and businesses, together these individuals can
13 strategize what can best suit the needs of students, families,
14 and members of the community; and be it further
 
15     RESOLVED, That Elev8 Chicago integrated services model
16 enhances educational opportunities and truly engages parents
17 which transforms the standard school environment by providing
18 additional social, emotional, academic, and health-related
19 supports that help students learn.